Month: May 2020

I watched a carpenter finish off a project by putting trim around the base of the floor.  He was adding something.  But I thought getting a trim, as in a haircut, was taking something away.  Upon reflection I remembered each December we trim a tree.  There we go adding something. I used to sail with a friend who trimmed his sails.  He neither added nor subtracted but adjusted.  When I fly an airplane I trim the moveable surfaces to take pressure off the yoke and fly level without help from me. I then remember getting thoroughly trounced at tennis and my opponent told me he trimmed me. A negotiator trims, finds a neutral position between two opposing parties. My wife has recently lost twenty pounds and is looking very trim.  I need to keep this devotional limited to three hundred words and so I trimmed it down from three hundred and eighteen words.

It is a wonder anyone ever learns English.  God trims me.  He trims away my sins. He trims me with good works. I hope.  He never trounces me.  He justwatches me trim myself, self-destruct.   He trims, fine tunes, me to ease me through life’s journey with as little pressure as possible.  God never trims by taking a neutral position about me with Satan.  God is very much on my side.

Because I want the very best for you but do not know your specific need; therefore, I am going to pray a prefect prayer and ask that God will trim you today.  He will take away or add or adjust anything you need.  May He trim away your sins and trim you with glorious character growth.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 11, 2010

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

Philippians two is a wonderful chapter.  In it Paul challenges us to have the mind of Jesus by being humble and obedient.  When he comes to verse fifteen he urges, “become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”  The NIV translates the last part “shine like the stars in the universe.”

Hollywood stars are people who shine by pretending to be someone they are not.  If they are really good at it they receive a small gold plated statue. God’s stars shine not by pretending but by becoming.  Each day we grow into the likeness of our Jesus, who according to Hebrews one, made the entire universe.  Instead of winning a small gold statue we win the ultimate prize, we win a crown of eternal life.

Notice the goal God has for us is to become harmless while living in a perverse world.  Because of the way we are that is almost impossible.  So often we ignorantly harm others.  We don’t know the backgrounds of those whom we contact and we thoughtlessly say things that pierce hearts. Ignorantly we belittle someone and not only make them feel small but useless.  As a teacher with a captive audience I have to be so careful and yet despite my care I still on occasion cause tears.

It is not easy to be harmless.  To be so we, first of all, need wisdom.  We need to understand others’ sensitivities.  Secondly, we need a desire to be a nurturer.  Thirdly, we need to learn to express ourselves in non-judgmental caring language. All this I have found is quite impossible without the indwelling Spirit of God’s love.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 10, 2010

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I just watched a professional basketball player, who makes millions of dollars a year for his skills, consecutively miss two free throws.  I don’t understand that.  But then again I don’t understand the pressure he was under to make those relatively simple tosses.  Psychological pressure can make the best of us do stupid and foolish things.  Free throws are well named.  That is exactly what they are.  The player can shoot the ball without having a combatant stand in front of him doing his best to block the shot by waving ten foot long arms in his face.  All this caused me to reflect on the game of life and I wondered if we ever get any free throws toward victory over sin and temptation or do we always have a combatant in our face doing his best to make us miss?

When Jesus was in the wilderness following his baptism we have record of the master tempter doing all he could to keep Jesus from pursuing His ministry.  I seriously doubt if any of us are important enough to have Lucifer himself go after us, but scripture does tell us a third of the angels are fallen, so I think there are plenty to go around.  However, by the same token, while we might not get any free throws we might, like in a basketball game, have others to guard us or screen so we have a best chance for a victory.

The point is we do not have to do it alone.  In John 14 Jesus promises to send us divine help. At the close of Matthew we are promised that He is always with us.  Being who we want to be is a team experience.  We never need to be on our own.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 9, 2011

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

When astronauts return to earth after an extended stay in space their muscles have to readjust to the downward pull of gravity.  Gravity is what creates weight.  If one wants to weigh half as much, all one needs to do is move to a planet with half the gravitational pull.  It is the pull that keeps our muscles toned.  Those pictures advertising electronic stimulation of the muscles promising wonderfully cut bodies are just not true.  Muscles develop in reaction to resistance.  Finely cut bodies are the result of disciplined hours of resistance training.

In a similar fashion our minds only develop to higher levels of performance when challenged.  Study, memorization, and critical thinking all contribute to keener perception.  Just as a couch potato gets soft and squishy so our brains lose their edge when fed a diet of sitcoms.  Resistance, hard work and discipline apply across each aspect of our lives.  Our physical, mental and spiritual natures grow stronger when challenged.

If you are a conservative be thankful for the presence of liberals.  If you are a liberal rejoice because there are conservatives present.  The conservatives hold on to tradition and values that come from centuries of lessons learned.  Liberals stimulate growth and change with new ideas.  When each resists the other something good occurs for the whole. Jesus understood this.  That is why in Matthew 5 He told us to rejoice when difficulties come.  They make us stronger.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 8, 2002

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94573

Rogerbothwell.org

During  a stay in the hospital one of the heroes of the past weeks for me was a wonderful Greek lady who was determined to find something I would eat.  Swallowing was very painful, so days went by without my eating.  Three times a day she came to talk about food, any food that sounding tempting.  Meal after meal she got me what I wanted only to see it go untouched.  She would not give up.  Finally she found something soothing that I could drink.  She was amazingly patient and persistent.

The analogy here jumps off the page.  Of all the miracles Jesus performed, the feeding of the 5000 is the only one mentioned in all four Gospels.  The Messiah was to feed His people.  I am amazed that the resurrection of Lazarus, a man dead for over three days, is only mentioned in the Gospel of John.

Jesus has a nourishing message of hope and life and His challenge is to find ways to make that message palatable for each of us.  Just as we have different physical tastes so we have different spiritual tastes.  As each of us is unique so is the necessity of making the appeal unique.  What touches the heart of one means little to another.  So it is that we have an all knowing God who alters the appeal to fit the person.  The miracle of Pentecost and languages were not so much the disciples speaking French and German as much as the miracle of ears.  People heard and were fed what appealed to them.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 7, 2012

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

Today someone within my hearing jokingly asked, “What’s normal?”  I interjected, “One standard deviation on either side of the mean and two if we want to be generous.”  If one can still remember the bell curve and the means of central tendency one can have quite an interesting discussion realizing “normal” is anything that comfortably fits within 68% or 95% of the population.

When in our teens we want more than anything to be “normal” in a population of teens.  While we say we want to be an individual at the same time we do all we can to be like our peers. If we don’t then we aren’t “normal.”  Then we are what is called an “outlier.”  Do you remember the old Marine recruiting posters that said, “We are looking for a few good men”?  God is looking for a few good outliers.  He wants a few courageous people who will not conform without first giving thought.  Giving thought is the key.  We can conform if the conforming does not require the loss of integrity and personal ethics.  Thoughtful conforming will not sacrifice character just to be part of the norm.

In 1 Peter 2:9 we are called to be a peculiar people.  That doesn’t mean God wants us to look weird by our clothing or hair styles.  The peculiarity is a call to be loving, honest and selfless.  Wouldn’t it be grand if that were the norm?  What an interesting world it would be if just 68% of the world would be completely trustworthy.  Out national debt would be gone by next April if that happened.

Fortunately for all of us “normal” people, grace does abound and should we allow Jesus to forgive us heaven will be filled with normal people.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 6, 2011

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

There are those who by not understanding think non-violence is weakness. They could not be more wrong.  It is natural to hit back.  It is instinctive.  To turn the other cheek takes enormous strength. First, one must combat nature.  Second, one must be brave enough to be hit again. Third, one must have the mental discipline to understand the immediate result could be very damaging but the long term result will be victory.  The great civil rights struggle in this country would have written a far different story had Dr. King taken to the streets with arms.

The Sermon on the Mount challenges us with the highest of ideals.  It is a recipe for constructing God’s ideal human.  Should we rise to such standards it might possibly stir God to do the same for us that He did for Enoch. Genesis 5:24 says, “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”  Apparently one day God must have said, “This man Enoch has become so much like us, we cannot allow him to die.  Let’s bring him home.” In I Thessalonians Paul speaks of people being taken to heaven without seeing death.  He says, “We which are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds to be with the Lord.”

Something that has puzzled me through the years is the large number of “Christians” who are so militant.  What would happen if we really did take Jesus at His word and feed our enemies and give them what they need?   Who would ultimately win?  I cannot believe that Jesus is wrong and yet I have people tell me I am naïve.  We are called to an unnatural standard.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 5, 2010

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

My wife was first to spot it.  There in the parking lot was a panel truck with the following message on the side, “Dent Redemption – We make it whole.”  Then in smaller font it said, “Paintless Dent Removal.”

Jesus touched the eyes of a blind man and he saw.   He didn’t use paint but He did use mud and spit.  Interesting.  See Mark 7 and 8.  A leper came to Him missing body parts.  Jesus made him whole.  The litany can go on and on. The point is Jesus makes people whole.  He takes out our dents and He doesn’t paint over our sins.  He actually removes them.  See I John 1:9.

I understand if I am cremated my wife will not only get my ashes but she will also receive my metal knee and metal hip.  That should make an interesting urn.  I certainly will never need any of those things ever again, because according to Paul in I Corinthians 15 my resurrected body will be whole and as different from this imperfect one as a seed is from what grows from the seed.

The fact is we do get dents as life moves along.  Some of them are from our own stupidity and other dents happen because others run into us.  Our souls take on experience and become very unique because of the dents.  While God never dents us He does take advantage of our self and other imposed dents to make us better people.   In Romans 8 Paul wrote that all things work together for good to those that love God.   Sometimes that is very difficult to understand but by faith we believe it is true.  Jesus is the ultimate Dent Redeemer.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 4, 2010

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

Within a few feet of each other we have a nest of baby cardinals, a nest of baby robins and a nest full of phoebes.  It is a wonderful time.   The goldfinches are wearing their summer plumage and showing off to our yard wren, catbird and hummingbirds.  Teeming is a word that comes to the front of my mind.  Our yard is teeming.  Just a few weeks ago there was thirty inches of snow where there are now eight inch high hostas.  People-high azaleas and forsythia overwhelm with their presence.

I am so thankful to be able to see.  I have two friends who cannot and I cannot find words to describe my sorrow that they cannot revel with me.  I want to tell them the cardinals are red, but if one has never seen red how can it be described?  So foolishly many years ago I tried to describe heaven in the midst of a sermon.  It was a miserable failure because I was trying to tell about something I myself had never seen. Someday I should get smart.

It is that way with so much.  One cannot truly speak of love until one has deeply loved.  One cannot describe evil until one has witnessed a holocaust or a genocide or the cross of Calvary.  Or in some cases the opposite is true.  Emily Dickinson wrote, “Success is counted sweetest by those who ne’er succeed.  To comprehend a nectar requires sorest need.”  Jesus understood.  In the Sermon on the Mount He said, “Blessed are those who are hungry for righteousness.  They shall be filled.”  In the midst of teeming there is yet so much more to be tasted, by me and my unsighted friends.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 3, 2011

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org

 

I’m not sure if there was any of the original road surface left and yet it was paved.  For over a half a mile we drove over patch upon patch upon patch.  Actually I should reword that sentence and exchange the word “drove” with the word “bounced.”  I wondered how many years and how many road crews it took to create such a wonder.   Since there didn’t seem to be any habitation along that stretch I figured it would be a long time before the State of New Hampshire would give up and repave.

I was reminded of socks and blue jeans when I was a boy.  My mom was a great patcher.  And indeed I do recall patches on patches.  Today my students come toclass with holes in their jeans and they maintain the jeans are brand new.  Humm?  What company is going to the Salvation Army and repackaging old pants?  They must be laughing all the way to the bank at our gullibility.

Obviously Jesus knew about patching. In Matthew 9:16 He said, “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.”  He was referring to the need to replace the old system with a new one.  Putting patches on the old way of earning heaven wasn’t going to work.  Grace was about to take the place of obedience.  This is not to say obedience isn’t important.  Obedience is the key to an abundant life because His laws are based on His wisdom.  To disobey is to ask for trouble.

But all of us have sinned and come short. The only way salvation will ever work is if it is totally replaced with grace.  The road to heaven was repaved.

Written by Roger Bothwell on May 2, 2010

Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574

Rogerbothwell.org